I am becoming aware of trends from the answers we receive to our interviews. We have spoken with a few mothers who are younger than I am, ranging to women in their 40s. I consistently notice a difference in answers and interactions based on the age of the woman. Most that are under 25 also speak excellent English, to the point where we can ask most of the questions without a translator. I wonder if the differences come from technology advances or from schooling advances. These women also have a better knowledge of essential hygiene and hand washing practices.

I found during most interviews, the men were not present. The community consists mostly of farmers and the men were generally out in the field when we would conduct interviews. In some cases, other men or women would be present during the surveys (which was always noted in our records). We found that men were active in answering the questions, and in some cases, active in child care decisions. We wanted to understand who was primarily responsible for care of children and what shared understandings among community members existed with respect to health. We asked the mothers if their understanding of health practices was shared by other members of the household, but we were also able to obtain information from conversations with other caregivers. There seemed to be a lot of continuity within each household.

I am new to ethnography research and I am a little nervous, yet excited, to start our research. After arriving in country, I notice myself getting comfortable with a day, two days of adjustment. I am not stranger to hearing stories but for some reason, the research context makes this task daunting. At its heart, we are walking to a community and simply asking “Tell us what is it like to be you. Tell me your triumphs, your struggles, what you care about and where your needs are not being met.” This is what I will try to focus on.

I will be spending seven weeks this summer researching in the community of Fodome Ahor, Ghana on water and sanitation health in order to understand community issues and work for positive public health changes. I hope to deepen my understanding of the community’s needs and develop approaches to improve conditions by using statistical and ethnographic techniques well-established in the public health discipline. I will be in the community of Fodome Ahor for 3.5 weeks beginning in mid May until the first week of June. Upon arriving home, I will spend my remaining 3.5 weeks analyzing the data collected in country.